The Wandering Isles: Session 78
Dash gathers Eldrin, Eos, Hatsu, and Weslyn and asks them to recount the last twenty minutes. Something feels wrong to him, and he worries there may be further issues with time itself. Eldrin, exhausted and overwhelmed, simply walks away, saying he is done. Confused, Dash is asked by Eos how he is feeling. In response, Dash reveals the gold kintsugi set into his chest, a visible reminder of how Eldrin saved his life.
The group pauses to consider their next steps. Dash suggests that their priority must be shelter, food, and homes for the survivors of the Siege of Saigo no Toshi, the people they managed to teleport away and bring safely to the Bastion. Hatsu and Eos head off to find the “bird lady” they helped previously, hoping to warn her and offer assistance. Weslyn goes to look for Eldrin, concerned about him, while Dash tries to find help for construction. His exhaustion catches up to him, and he fails to find anyone able to assist.
Dash returns to the Bastion, sits with his head in his hands, then forces himself to try again. He explains the situation to Lysa. She asks how all of this became his responsibility, and he admits that even in his current state, he is still the best suited to shoulder it. They talk quietly about how to protect their magical children in a world that fears magic. Their babies are physically magical beings. Dash hopes they will be pebbles that start an avalanche of change.
He wonders aloud if he was always destined for the Arcanum, surrounded by magic yet lacking it himself, and now raising children who embody it. Lysa wonders if Remington somehow knew all along. She leaves to look for help, while Dash stays behind to rest and watch the children.
Elsewhere, Eldrin walks the shoreline without purpose, trying to process everything that has happened. Weslyn finds him and says, “come with me, we should talk,” leading him toward the treeline. Eldrin follows, uneasy and silent. Weslyn guides him through dead woods where nature has withered away. They reach what was once a small lake, now reduced to a muddy puddle.
Weslyn asks how Eldrin is holding up. Eldrin admits he is deeply stressed. His bloodline stretches far beyond this planet, his life has been chaos since arriving on the island, and he recently brought someone back from the dead without knowing he could. He used to talk to his parents, to journal, to take time for himself, and now all of that is gone. Weslyn asks about serving a god, about strange powers that pull followers into impossible acts. Eldrin agrees, but says there is a difference between reading about miracles and performing them. Crossing that line terrified him. He was not ready, but he acted because he could not live with himself if he failed.
Weslyn reminds him that no saint ever wanted their role, but he is here now, where he is meant to be. He calls Chicken the Fox onto the table. The fox jumps up and wags its tail. Weslyn hopes to help Eldrin understand what confuses him. He manifests divine symbols and asks Chicken which god they are bound to, but the fox simply hops down and brushes against him. Weslyn asks Eldrin to speak Seraphic to Chicken. When he does, the land briefly heals, colour returning to the world. Chicken bows to Eldrin.
Weslyn asks about recurring dreams and explains their importance, then asks Eldrin to return here at night.
The focus shifts to Eos and Hatsu as they climb the mountain ridges in search of the “bird lady” they brought to the island. Hatsu calls out, “[Virelya of the Broken Glade].” She demands to know why they are bothering her. Hatsu explains the sudden influx of people on the beach and assures her they mean no harm. She responds that people always mean harm. Hatsu swears on his name and all that he is that he will keep her safe. She replies, “we’ll see,” but agrees to trust him, warning that if they come for her, she will come for them. She then flies away at incredible speed, vanishing into the distance.
Afterward, Hatsu asks Eos if she thinks the bee is real. She says yes, she saw it. He asks if the bird lady looks like a bee, and Eos again says yes. Hatsu reflects on how things can be more powerful than they appear. Eos reminds him of the chain of power referenced recently, “Higher up the chain.” She asks how he is doing. Hatsu confesses that his newly revealed older brother killed their father, that he never knew this brother existed, and that now he must take over the family and help them regain strength. More than anything, he feels overwhelmed, a feeling shared by nearly everyone in the group.
Slowly, everyone regathers at the Bastion. Hatsu addresses the crowd they brought to the island. He distributes five tents from the Void Satchel and sets them up as first aid stations. He speaks to the people of Saigo no Toshi, thanking them for trusting him, explaining the need for shelter, rationing supplies, fishing, and delaying further releases from the book. He asks for help from anyone with knowledge of land restoration and directs them to Ayame, Asuka, or a member of the group. He demands respect for the island’s entities and urges kindness, reminding them not everyone in the world is cruel.
Hatsu begins organising shelter and medical areas, asking Ayame and Asuka to secure and track rations. Weslyn prepares his space for the night’s work but notices Chicken remains silent beneath the table. He sits with the fox, simply sharing the moment.
Eldrin goes to Dash’s door, saying he will not stay long. Dash tells him he owes him every minute of his life. They embrace like brothers. Eldrin admits he does not know how he would have lived with himself if he had failed to save him. Dash reassures him that even without that miracle, Eldrin would still have done incredible good. He reminds Eldrin that everything is an opportunity for growth.
Eldrin worries about how he marked Dash, but Dash says the alternative was abandoning everything, something he cannot do with children to protect. He shows Eldrin a drawing from his journal, created as a symbol of gratitude. Eldrin admits he always wished for a brother, and now he has one in Dash. Dash tells him he is proud of him, calls him his hero, and reminds him that while he has the choice not to be a hero, it is not one he would ever truly make.
Eldrin explains there are ways to keep Dash’s children safe, as he has done. His eyes glow gold, and Dash’s daughter is protected. Dash says the true answer is changing the world. Eldrin scoffs. Dash asks Weslyn to help introduce the children to the group. Questions arise about their names, Ash and Elyssa, and Weslyn is openly upset that they are not autumn themed.
Hatsu takes the book containing hundreds of people from Dash. He removes his glove, revealing pale, pearlescent skin, and channels his energy into the book, praying, “mother of light, creator of shadows, send us a bee for those in need. Help Vathros find his path and guide these people to where they belong.” He communicates with Vathros, who explains it will take weeks to release everyone. Hatsu shows him an image of the destroyed cave sanctuary to motivate those trapped within. Vathros asks him to be ready and in open space when the time comes.
Hatsu lays out medical supplies from Saigo no Toshi and prepares the tents, asking Eldrin for help. Eldrin sings softly to Dash’s new born children, “Hush now, starlight, drift and stay… Moon hums soft, till dreams find way.” Together with Eos and Hatsu, he helps heal thirty people on the first night. Torches are extinguished, people are kept close for warmth, and Hatsu gives his room to Ayame and Asuka while he watches over the community. Eos confirms her room is secure and settles in for the night.
Eldrin meets Weslyn by the woods as promised. Weslyn asks for his trust, and Eldrin agrees to try. They return to the same space, and Weslyn asks him to lie down. Eldrin questions why here and now, but Weslyn tells him to stay focused and to tread water. Eldrin opens his eyes and finds himself back in his old home, Bricksunder. He puts on his goggles, clocks in, patrols the town, eats bread he does not remember acquiring, and lives an ordinary day as a guard.
At the same time, Weslyn’s tattoos stretch out and latch onto Eldrin as he enters the dream. He struggles to control the space, tries to shift doors and guide Eldrin’s mind, but meets subconscious resistance. When Eldrin is suddenly surrounded by hostile figures and panics, Weslyn seizes the moment and pulls him through a door into another time and place.
He brings Eldrin to a shrine that once stood on the mountain above the Crescent Pearl, a place Weslyn visited long ago with Slate. Eldrin recognises a book containing answered and unanswered prayers. He sees memories of Weslyn speaking with an angelic being, told he would guard this place for over a thousand years without knowing why. He sees Slate speaking to the book, recalling the moment Slate took the book of Vathros.
Weslyn wakes Eldrin safely, explaining the journey was meant to reveal their place in the cosmic order and to test if such a thing was possible. He urges Eldrin to find the shrine’s location, though it no longer exists. He speaks cryptically of large fish and small fish, and worries about a path where things may not work. When Eldrin points out it sounds like Weslyn will not be staying, Weslyn confirms it is time for him to go, though he does not know if he will return. Eldrin asks him not to disappear. Weslyn promises to join them in the morning and tells Eldrin to speak with his god.
Eldrin goes to the space he cleared for a future shrine to Tempestas. As he reflects on the island’s future, Sister Vaelith appears. She tells him the future depends on those he surrounds himself with and their intentions. He says that if he works to be better, unity is possible. Humans and magical beings can build bridges together. He says they need resources, starting from nothing. She reminds him that everything begins with a seed, that what is sacred is defined by need, and that the island itself is a seed for others.
A pink hue spreads as the sakura tree planted long ago grows, the forest changing and expanding. Sister Vaelith leaves, reminding him that he is both seed and soil, guardian and foundation, and that his allies share the burden of protecting this land.
When she vanishes, Eldrin notices the real Sister Vaelith still lies unconscious. He returns to the Bastion. Deep within the endless halls of a shrine rests a book filled with Eldrin’s prayers, past, present, and future, for himself, his friends, and for the Wandering Isles.
